Lucas sworn in as sheriff

ST. CLAIRSVILLE David Lucas was sworn in this Friday as the new sheriff of Belmont County. He thanked the voters for their faith in electing him and his supporters for their help during the campaign.

He pledged to take a pro-active stance on crime during his four-year term. He noted the importance of working with communities and local law enforcement to combat issues of drugs, drug related crimes and home invasions.

“It’s a joint effort and working with everybody is going to give us a better outcome than what we could do alone. We’re going to be aggressive attacking these issues and working hard going after the problems,” he said. “We’re all here for the same thing. We have to work together.”

He stressed communication and sharing intelligence as a vital tool in investigating and preventing crimes.

“The key is being pro-active. We’re going to be out there looking for crime before it happens,” he said. “I think one of the biggest deterrents to crime is the uniform officer in the car out there. We’re going to be out there looking for it, not waiting for it to happen.”

Lucas retired from the sheriff’s on Oct. 31, 2007. He continued working with the department in training and the special operations branch.

Lucas begin his career in 1979 at Barnesville Police. During his time with the sheriff’s office, he was a founding member of the Sexual Assault Taskforce. He also formulated and oversaw the special operations branch.